Lucian's Funeral

This morning at 10:30 am, after procrastinating for a long time, I buried Lucian in a corner of our neighbourhood park:

With my new trowel, I managed to get only about 5 cm into the ground below a blackberry bush:

The plaid thing is his shroud. A pair of Matt's boxers collapsed recently and this morning Matt asked me where the clothing recycling bag is - after Matt left for work, I cut the butt part off to make the shroud. Don't worry: the boxers were freshly laundered.

I collected dirt from around the park to augment the mound on the grave.

I took one last photograph of Lucian in the sunshine. It was, I realized, the only time he ever had the sun on his face.

A friend reminded me about Lucian a few months ago and then I cried.

Matt wondered if Ivan the cat knew all along that Lucian was sick. In the last month, Ivan would lay in front of the cage and watch Lucian for hours at a time. Why did the cat suddenly take in interest in the hamster?

I worried all day that his grave would not protect him from raccoons or coyotes, so I got a flashlight tonight to examine it. So far, so good.

Tomorrow I will buy some bleach to disinfect his cage and personal effects.

So very sorry. I just went back and visited all your Lucian posts. He was a delighful being, and my heart aches for you.

Thank you for your concern re: willow. I take her to work with me at the vet at least once or twice a week, and the dr very patiently examines her while I stress about observed behavioral changes that I fear may be all in my mind. I will share with the dr your story tho as it may shed some light....hamster medicine, i fear, despite the many sacrifices these fluffballs make for our own well being, is sadly medieval. I do hope that talk of bleach and disinfectent means that adoption is not far from your mind. There are so many that need us....

Thank you every one for your condolences. I know it may be silly to most people to be sad for an animal, but really all animals have personalities, regardless of whether or not science has proved it yet. And Lucian was extremely good-natured and endlessly fascinating.

Lyn: yup, hamster medicine is very medieval.

Asha: couldn't see that his hamster food was any of the deadly ones. But who knows?